Hello from Africa…I have been here for less than 48 hours but it feels like a week. My lost luggage still has not arrived, I have been to a cricket match, I have been called a "f***ing American"by a bartender, been invited to a "braai" (a South African BBQ) and successfully hiked a mountain overlooking all of Cape Town….and it is only day 2! Despite being in the same clothes for the last 4 days, I am loving Africa.

My flight went well…I guess. I slept for the entire 9 hours to London, but as we were landing in London I realized we were arriving an hour late. I was a little stressed knowing that I only had a 2.5 hour layover, but was confident I would make my next flight. It was not until the British woman sitting next to me asked me what terminal my next flight was in, then I started to stress. She knew I had to catch my next flight in an hour, and when I calmly said terminal 4, she ACTUALLY yelped out loud. Everyone around our seats asked her what was the matter, and she explained that I had another flight to catch in terminal 4 in one hour and everyone started gasping and telling me "you will NEVER make it" (I honestly heard that about 6 times). I was shocked how much concern these people showed for me. By the time we were getting off the flight, everyone seemed to know my story and was wishing me good luck as I broke into a full sprint when I hit the terminal. As I was running frantically through the GIANT airport in London, I questioned why all of these strangers were so concerned for me to catch my flight…did I really look THAT pathetic that they felt sorry for me??? Ohhh well forget about that….no time to think…I have a plane to catch!!! When I regained focus, I had realized I missed the turn for the connecting flight trams. Somehow I made it on a tram, made it into my terminal, and boarded with 5 minutes until the gate was to be closed. Did I mention I was rolling a mini suitcase behind me?Rolling probably isn't even the proper term… flying would be more appropriate. I just picture myself running and this suitcase flying behind me as I raced through the London airport. So as a result of this stressful transition, when I boarded my next flight I soon nuzzled back up to the window with a pillow and slept the remaining 13 hours to Cape Town.

Now for the next fiasco…my arrival in Cape Town. I got off the plane (very well rested may I add) only to find that my main bag did not arrive. It was left in London…SHOCKER! Oh well, time to move on…I was greeted by Oliver (the head of the program) and he took me to get my cell phone and then to my new home! I live in a 4 bedroom house through a big green gate. Through our gate there are 2 other houses so I like to think of it as a tri-pod. I live with a 22 year old German boy named Peter who is awesome. He has been here for 6 months studying at University of Cape Town and now is taking 3 months off for his "summer" then is going to start an internship in a couple months to try to find a cure for tuberculosis. He is sooooo fun….he fits the perfect stereotype of a college-aged German. He has actually run out of money for a while, so he forgoes meals in order to pay for booze. In the first 5 minutes we met, he told me that he thinks a 6 pack of beer is equivalent to a meal, and thus, he chooses the beer. I think we are going to thrive as roommates! We also have another German girl living here, but I have yet to meet her because she is on a 2 week vacation through Africa. And we also have one more person moving in next week,but we don't know who it will be. So that is the living situation, it is great! I have a gigantic room and I am loving it.

I am living in a student community called Observatory (or Obz) as the locals call it. It is so awesome, you can walk anywhere in Obz in 5 minutes. I live just above Lower Main Road which is where all the bars, little shops, and amazing restaurants are located. It has a very unique and intrinsic vibe to it, and is filled with students from the University of Cape Town and several international students. The nightlife here is crazy, bars stay open until 4 am, and nobody cares what day of the week it is. I have been told a Monday is just as packed as a Friday night.

So after I moved in (well moved in is a bogus term considering all I had to put into my room was my rolly suitcase and a backpack) we went to Obz Café for food, then 12 of us were off to a cricket match. It was South Africa vs West Indies in this beautiful stadium with partial grass seating and partial stadium seating. It was 82 degrees yesterday and so I sat in the sun, drank cheap beer, watched my first game of cricket, and thoroughly enjoyed myself! After cricket, I came home and Peter made homemade Spaghetti and we drank South African wine! Then we went out to a bar called Stones….it is a huge upstairs bar with about 40 pool tables and an outdoor balcony with tables. It was absolutely crazy fun and they played 1990's American jams at this bar…totally my kind of place. I went up to the bar and Peter told me to order 2 "Black Labels" and I asked him what they were and he told me that they were beer, so when I went to order I asked for "2 Black Label beers, please." The bartended laughed in my face and called me a "f***ing American" and proceeded to tell me that I should never say black label beers again because he KNOWS it is beer. He proceeded to give me a lesson on ordering drinks and became my friend by the end of the night. I was so embarrassed though…that is like going to the bar and saying "I would like two Coors Light beers, please."So I was off to a REALLY great start-huh?

This morning I woke up at 6 am and went to breakfast at this very small corner restaurant called Mimi's and had the most amazing meal. I proceeded to be productive and went grocery shopping, seeing that Peter doesn't buy any food, just beer! On my way home I got disastrously lost and walked around like an idiot forever until I had to go ask a security guard where my street was. It was my first "oh my I am in Africa" moment! I had no idea where I was, I was holding 3 huge bags with heavy water bottles, sweating nervously in the African heat, and just felt so lost…but I got it together and found my house.We then had a safety orientation and such then when on a 3 hour hike to the top of Lions Peak. A cloud front moved in as we were climbing which limited our vision at the top of the mountain, but we were still able to see all of the city below us, Table Mountain behind us, and the ocean sprawling below. It was the most incredible view I have EVER seen.

I am finally exhausted! But ready for another big day tomorrow. Hope you all enjoy my first blog posting…I am sure they will only get more interesting and more entertaining!